Packwood Haugh School

Coordinates: 52°48′04″N 2°54′11″W / 52.801°N 2.903°W / 52.801; -2.903

Packwood Haugh School is an independent coeducational day and boarding preparatory school near Ruyton-XI-Towns, mid-way between Oswestry and Shewsbury in Shropshire, England. It takes children between the ages of four and thirteen, and there are currently about 304 at the school, of whom half are boarders.^[1]

The school was founded in 1892 at Packwood in Warwickshire and moved to its present site, a large Victorian country house set in 60 acres (240,000 m²), in 1941. In 1956, it became a charitable trust. A pre-preparatory department, Packwood Acorns, was established in 1993 for day children only aged between four and seven.^[1]

A new boarding house for girls has been added, a new theatre was opened in 2003 and a new sports hall in 2008.^[1]

History

Packwood Haugh was founded by J G Bradshaw at the end of the nineteenth century, opening in the autumn term of 1892 at Packwood in Warwickshire with just five boys and one assistant master. For almost 50 years the school gradually grew and in 1940 it moved to its current location at Ruyton XI Towns in Shropshire when the original school building was requisitioned by the RAF.

Packwood soon established itself as one of the country's leading prep schools. Academic achievement has always been of major importance; from the very early days academic scholarships were won to many of the major public schools and over the years regular awards for sport, music, art and drama have been added to the list.

From the initial five boys pupil numbers have now grown to 300; girls joined the school in 1968 and the house and grounds have expanded over the years. The major acquisition, during the headship of Edward Pease-Watkin, was that of Park Farm in 1977 which gave the school a total of 65 acres. Developments since then have included squash courts, the girls' house, the all-weather sports area, a purpose-built theatre, a state-of-the-art sports hall, art room, DT room and IT suite, and even an equestrian cross-country course.

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Iles, D. et al., Packwood Haugh School: Independent Schools Inspectorate Report dated March 2006